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The Army Mishap Investigation Course

By CW4 Jason Burke, Aviation Mishap Investigator, U.S. Army Combat Readiness Center, Fort Rucker, AlabamaAugust 10, 2022

Soldiers attending the Army Mishap Investigation Course at Fort Rucker, Ala. inspects aircraft components from destroyed CH-47 Chinook helicopter at the U.S. Army Combat Readiness Center's Crash Dynamic Laboratory. The lab features distinct recreations of various mishap scenes involving Army rotary-wing aircraft, military vehicles, unmanned aircraft systems and private motor vehicles. Trainees follow the rigorous procedures of Army mishap investigations with a goal of understanding causes to prevent similar incidents in the future.
Soldiers attending the Army Mishap Investigation Course at Fort Rucker, Ala. inspects aircraft components from destroyed CH-47 Chinook helicopter at the U.S. Army Combat Readiness Center's Crash Dynamic Laboratory. The lab features distinct recreations of various mishap scenes involving Army rotary-wing aircraft, military vehicles, unmanned aircraft systems and private motor vehicles. Trainees follow the rigorous procedures of Army mishap investigations with a
goal of understanding causes to prevent similar incidents in the future.
(Photo Credit: U.S. Army Combat Readiness Center) VIEW ORIGINAL

The Army Mishap Investigation Course (AMIC), ATRRS Course 7K-F22, is a nine-day training program that provides graduates with basic knowledge, skills, abilities and competencies required to manage a mishap investigation. AMIC provides techniques and incorporates the use of real-world mishap case studies that challenge each attendee’s critical-thinking and problem-solving skills in an experiential learning environment.

Conducted by the U.S. Army Combat Readiness Center (USACRC) at Fort Rucker, Alabama, the course focuses on the analysis of various aspects of mishap investigations and the 3W approach: “What happened?”, “Why did it happen?” and “What can we do about it?”

The goal is to enhance mishap-prevention strategies through effective investigation techniques. The course is designed to train safety personnel (uniformed safety officers and occupational health specialists) on recent theories associated with mishap causation, investigative techniques, data acquisition, structure of investigative reports, management responsibilities, and findings and recommendations.

Identifying human error is the tricky part for mishap investigations and, for that reason, AMIC utilizes the Swiss cheese model of mishap causation based on the work of Dr. James Reason, a graphic representation of the relationship between latent failures and the resultant active failures.

The capstone of the course is to be notionally notified of a mishap, assign board members and work through the process of a mishap investigation, culminating with the command outbrief, covering all aspects of the mishap and the resultant findings and recommendations. The course capitalizes on an interactive training facility called the Crash Dynamics Lab (CDL), which provides the students an opportunity to practice on-site evidence collection and reconstruction using one of the various tactical aviation and ground vehicle mishap sites.

Mishap board members are taught many different subjects, including Introduction to Mishap Investigations; Pre-Mishap Planning; Board Composition; Mishap Investigation Preparation; Legal Aspects of Mishap Investigations; Medical Aspects; Witness Interviewing Techniques; Composite Materials; Security, Marking and Diagramming; Photography in Mishap Investigations; Data Analysis; and Findings and Recommendations.

Particular emphasis is placed on determining the sequence of events to develop management actions that will prevent reoccurrence of mishaps. After participating in lecture-based training, practical exercises and exams, students will be able to prepare mishap reports utilizing Army Safety Management Information System 2.0 (ASMIS 2.0), the Army’s sole tool for mishap and near-miss reporting.

The target audiences to attend AMIC are U.S. Army personnel, both military and civilian, serving in safety positions as required by Army Regulation 385-10, and Army civilians serving in a safety and occupational health position or a position that requires skills to mitigate hazards, prevent hazards or advise safety investigators as a subject matter expert.

AMIC is also a part of the course of instruction in the Aviation Safety Officer Course and Ground Safety Officer Course. For a list of course dates, please refer to ATRRS or visit the USACRC website at https://safety.army.mil/TRAINING-COURSES.

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